Glass of the Maharajahs

The Corning Museum of Glass has an exhibit that will run until November 30, 2013. The exhibit is called the Glass of the Maharajahs. The pictures of the glass items are breathtaking! http://www.cmog.org/collection/exhibitions/maharajahs

European manufacturers made one of kind glass items for wealthy Indians in the mid to late 19th century. There are glass chairs and tables. Wow.

Tiffin Glass Museum

 We don't think we can say it better than they can:

"The Tiffin Glass Museum honors the heritage established by the men and women of Tiffin’s “Glass House.” Through preservation and education, the Museum safeguards glassware made by the artisans from the factory’s nearly hundred-year history. Museum preservation work includes acquiring memorabilia and historical documents from the factory’s beginning in 1889 until its closing in 1984."

 http://www.tiffinglass.org/

The Glass of C.F. Monroe: Wave Crest, Nakara, Kelva

The C.F. Monroe Glass Company was in business from 1880 to 1916. They were a decorating company. They purchased undecorated blanks from France and  American glass companies such as Mt. Washington. The glass they decorated on was opal glass, a creamy white color. They called their decorated ware
Wave Crest, Kelva and Nakara.

The glass may or may not be signed. The metal fittings on the glass may or may not be marked. If the metal is marked it would be with the letters CFM Co.They also decorated cut glass blanks.

To learn more about this glass that is iconic in the world of glass visit the Wave Crest Collector's Club at  http://wavecrestcollectorsclub.org They have a yearly convention. This year it will be in November in Santa Barbara, California.

A Glass Shot Tower

What is a shot tower? A shot tower is built of brick or stone. It can be 75 to 160 feet tall. Lead is heated until it is molten.  It is dropped through a copper sieve high in the tower. The molten lead forms tiny spherical balls as it falls. The balls fall into a water filled basin. After they cool they are checked for roundness. If they are out of round they are re-melted. The balls are sorted by size. And there we have shot for use in firearms.

The link we have is for a miniature shot tower made of glass. It sold at auction in 2008. We were discussing the old days with dealer friends about the most unusual item we have ever owned and sold. They mentioned that they had bought and sold a  glass shot tower many years ago. We could only find one link for the a glass shot tower on line and here it is. http://www.soldusa.com/rainworx/detail.asp?id=13969&bigpic=0#img

Interested in Canadian Glass?

Glasfax is dedicated to the study of glass manufactured and used in Canada from before Confederation right up to the present day.  Glasfax was founded in 1967 during Canada's Centenial celebrations.  There are three chapters – District 3 with members in the Greater Toronto Area; District 4 with a membership based in southwestern Ontario; and District X for members in all other locations. Their members are interested in the history of glass in all its phases from raw materials to the finished article. This is a very nice site on Canadian glass with lots of links and info. http://www.glasfax.ca

Glass Knife Rests

When looking for something to blog about today I thought of knife rests. There use to be quite a few collectors for them. I did not find any collector associations for knife rests while surfing the net. I did find an article on the Antique Trader web page: http://www.antiquetrader.com/antiques/antiques-americana/museums/american_brilliant_cut_glass_knife_rests_at_historical_glass_museum

Does anyone know of any collector groups for knife rests?

Fenton Glass

The Fenton Glass Company was in business for 106 years. While the company is not making tradition glass items they are still in business: http://www.fentonartglass.com/

If you are interested in learning about Fenton Glass here are two web pages to check out: http://www.fentonglasscollectors.com/  and http://www.fentonfan.com/ and for information on the future of Fenton Glass: http://www.fentonartglass.com/newsletter/2013/USGlassClub.asp